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Weeknight Massaman Chicken
Steps
- Start the rice first so it lands with the curry. Have everything else cut and within reach before the pan gets hot. Massaman moves quickly once it starts.
- Open the coconut milk without shaking it and spoon the thick cream off the top into a deep skillet or pot. Leave the thin liquid in the can for now. Set the heat to medium-high and let the cream bubble for 3 to 4 minutes until it looks glossy and slightly split. This is the step people skip and the one that builds the flavor, so do not rush it.
- Add the 3 Tbsp curry paste to the cracked cream and fry it, stirring, for 2 full minutes until it darkens and smells intense.
- Add the chicken and turn it to coat every piece in the paste. Let it sear for 2 to 3 minutes. It will not be cooked through yet, and that is fine.
- Pour in the rest of the can plus 3/4 can of water. Add the potatoes and onion wedges, then the 2 Tbsp fish sauce and 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar. Bring to a simmer.
- Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes so nothing catches on the bottom. It is ready when a potato pierces easily and the sauce has reduced and thickened. If it tightens up before the potatoes are soft, add a splash more water.
- While it simmers, toast the peanuts in a dry pan over medium heat, shaking often, for 3 to 4 minutes until nutty and lightly colored. Cool a minute, then roughly chop.
- Once the potatoes are tender, stir 1 Tbsp peanut butter into the sauce and let it melt in for 2 minutes. Taste and add a second spoon if you want it richer.
- Balance the sauce. It should read a little salty, a little sweet, a little sour. Add fish sauce for salt, dark brown sugar for sweetness, lime for brightness. Keep nudging until it makes you go "oh."
- Spoon over rice, scatter the toasted peanuts on top, and serve with lime wedges.
Notes
- Peanut butter is the shortcut that tastes like the long wayFresh-ground with no added sugar or oil melts into the sauce and gives you the deep peanut backbone massaman is known for, well beyond what a garnish of nuts alone can do. Toasted peanuts on top then handle the crunch.
- No tamarind, no problemA tablespoon of lime juice plus a teaspoon of dark brown sugar stands in for a spoon of tamarind. Go a touch heavier on dark brown than light, since its molasses note reads as the caramel-tamarind background the dish wants. A half teaspoon of Worcestershire, which contains tamarind, adds real depth if you have it.
- One can is on the small side for a braise,so the water is doing real work. Keep an eye on it and add a splash more anytime the sauce reduces faster than the potatoes soften.
